Well, it's been a while but, hey, I got an update up before Halloween! That's gotta count for something
Bakura: not when your next update won't come out until New Year's Eve.
Shut up, Bakura. Anyway, thank you to Xanthosxd, Artorius Divinus, Guest, The King in White, Blacksword Zero, Wisegirl12xx, DarkAeroSage, demedichi, MichaelJCaboose007, Shadow-Shinobi666, Guest, DYnoJackal19, B-Kira, Doommajor (x2), Scarease, Guest, OBSERVER01, anand891996, and Shimmering-Sky for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome!
And here is chapter 33. I hope that you like it and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
. . .
. . .
December 10, 2004
Aries Villa, Pendragon
Five-year-old Lelouch vi Britannia scampered across the floor toward where his mother was seated on her favorite armchair, flipping through a book. "Mama!" He called as he scampered over to join her.
Marianne smiled down at him as she closed her book and put it on the side table. "What is it, Lelouch?" she asked, reaching down and picking him up, resting him on her lap.
"I wanna ask you somethin'?" the small amethyst-eyed prince said.
"What do you want to ask me?"
"Well, it's something I heard Brother Schneizel mention to Brother Clovis," the five-year-old said, brow furrowed in puzzlement. "I think I know what he meant but I'm not sure."
"Well, what did Schneizel say?" Marianne asked with a gentle smile.
"He mentioned somethin' about an eye for an eye, like you do something and someone does the same thing back to you. Does that mean that if someone hurt someone else's friend or something then that person can hurt someone they care about in payback?" Lelouch asked curiously.
"Pretty much, yes," Marianne said with a slight nod.
"I think that's dumb," Lelouch said, wrinkling his nose.
"Why do you say that?"
"'Cause then it'd just cause it to happen again. I mean, the person who had someone he cared about get hurt by the someone getting payback for their friend will also want to get payback for his own friend getting hurt, right? And it'd just keep going like that." Lelouch tilted his head to the side, looking vaguely confused by his own wording but Marianne seemed to get the gist of what he was saying.
"That's true," she said.
"Then it's stupid," Lelouch said. "'Cause everyone would just keep getting hurt and the hurting of others would never end. It'd be like...like...a never-ending chess match!" He seemed happy with his metaphor and Marianne chuckled, ruffling her son's hair.
"While I agree, it still happens," she said.
"Why?" Lelouch asked curiously.
"Well, because that's just the way people are."
"Why?"
"Unfortunately, I don't know. I don't think anyone does. Granted, harming someone else's friend as payback for that someone else harming your friend is rather counterproductive," Marianne said.
"What's count...count…?" the five-year-old frowned, struggling over the new word.
"It means it wouldn't help the situation, just make it worse."
Lelouch tilted his head to the side again. "Wouldn't it be better to go after the one who harmed the friend, rather than a friend of the one who harmed the friend?" he asked.
"I think that might have been what the person who created that phrase 'an eye for an eye' really mean but no one sees it that way or, at least, I haven't found anyone that sees it that way," Marianne said.
"Why not?"
"I don't know. People are weird, I suppose."
Lelouch giggled in agreement.
. . .
33
An Eye for an Eye
March 21, 2017
Abandoned Subway Tunnel, Shinjuku Ghetto
"That's not gas," Suzaku said lamely, staring in confusion at the green-haired woman that was laying in the center of the capsule that had just released her. Her green hair was long enough to cover her upper body and it was clear by the look in her eyes that she was drugged. Suzaku recalled seeing the same look in Lelouch's eyes when those people who'd tried to kidnap him back at Osaka had drugged him.
"Help me get her out of those," Lelouch said, pushing the still stunned Suzaku off him and moving over to help the green-haired woman.
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Suzaku nodded and moved over to help his friend. They worked to undo the buckles of the straightjacket and Lelouch removed the gag from the greenette's mouth. She still didn't make a sound nor did she move, though she did blink every once and a while.
"What in the world was this woman doing in a gas capsule?" Suzaku asked as he and Lelouch helped the girl to her feet and they hurried away from the truck.
"I don't know. Clovis is behind this, I'm positive of it, and I'm thinking that this girl might be related to that Code-R project we overheard Clovis mention, though I'm still not sure why Clovis would be keeping this girl a secret," Lelouch said, studying the girl who just blinked at him, clearly too out of it to talk. "And it doesn't seem as if I will be getting any answers out of her right now."
"What now?" Suzaku asked with a frown as they moved a little further away from the truck.
The sound of movement came to them and Lelouch and Suzaku turned just in time to see Clovis's Royal Guard striding toward them, the captain stopping when he caught sight of who was there, surprise on his face.
"Your Highness?" he said surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Lelouch narrowed his eyes, shifting his grip on the green-haired woman. "I should be asking you the same thing," he said coolly, straightening up and giving the captain a cool glare that befitted his moniker.
The captain frowned but didn't answer as he pulled his radio to his lips. "Your Highness, we've found the capsule," he said into it, eyes never straying from Lelouch. "But we've got a bit of a problem."
"What sort of problem?" Prince Clovis's voice asked over the radio.
"Prince Lelouch and his Knight got to the project first," the captain said.
There was a long moment of pure silence. "What?! How?! He should still be at the party," Clovis exclaimed and Suzaku was positive he wasn't the only one who heard the edge of panic in the prince's voice.
"Orders, Your Highness?" the captain asked.
"...No one must know about that girl," Clovis said finally. "And I mean no one. Retrieve the girl at all costs and ensure that there are no witnesses left behind."
Suzaku's eyes went wide with shock. No witnesses? But we've both seen the girl… He bit his lip but forced himself to move so that he was standing in front of Lelouch and the green-haired girl, noting that Lelouch was doing the same to the girl.
"You would really kill your own brother to keep this girl a secret, Clovis?" Lelouch murmured.
"Your Highness, are you sure…?" the captain began.
"Yes, I'm sure! There can't be any witnesses. It's regrettable but Lelouch should not have poked his nose into this matter. If he hadn't, I wouldn't have to do this. You know your orders, Captain. Make sure there are no witnesses and retrieve that girl," Clovis ordered firmly and then ended the connection.
The Royal Guard's captain lowered the radio. "I apologize, Your Highness, but we have our orders," he said, removing his gun form its holster.
Suzaku stiffened, aware of the guns that were trained on him and his prince and he gripped his hands into fists. "I won't let you harm him," he hissed but, before he could attack in the hope of giving his prince and the girl a chance to get out of there, a resounding boom sounded behind them. A column of fire shot upward and a spray of debris shot in all directions, forcing the Royal Guard to shield their eyes and back up to avoid getting hit by the debris.
Suzaku wasted no time and, grabbing Lelouch's arm, bolted in the direction opposite the one he'd come in. Lelouch was quick to grab the arm of the green-haired girl before running after him, both of them ignoring the ash and small pieces of debris that struck them as they ran.
. . .
Abandoned Building, Shinjuku Ghetto
B.B. glanced up when he felt a stirring within the World of C and hummed, a small smile crossing his lips and his amber eyes alit. "So you're back, huh?" he murmured. "Never thought I'd run into you after all these years. I do wonder if you still don't really like me."
Humming, he got to his feet and wandered over to the broken window of the abandoned building, gazing at the battle that was taking place in front of him. The abandoned building was near the edge of the ghetto after all, so not only did B.B. have a perfect view of the battle but it was also less likely that the battle would reach him.
As he watched the battle, he wondered if the green-haired witch was going to enter into another contract. He may not know much about her last contractor but he suspected that things hadn't ended well with that last one, much like his contract with Tara hadn't ended well.
On that note, he needed to find another contractor himself. But, this time, he was planning on being more selective. He was not going to make yet another rash decision; choosing Tara as his contractor and restoring Nunnally's eyesight were enough for one lifetime.
He was also intrigued by the Demon Prince that the Kozuki Resistance were tasked by Unity to capture. Perhaps he could be a potential contractor. Granted, B.B. doubted that the prince would trust him at all, not after with what happened with Nunnally and B.B.'s refusal to answer any of the prince's questions.
Pushing the thought out of his mind, he refocused on the battle.
. . .
Bridge, G1 Mobile Base
Clovis closed his eyes as he sank back into his throne, his mind on the orders he'd just given to his Royal Guard. It really was regrettable, and hurt a lot more than Clovis thought it would, to order the death of his younger half-brother but Clovis didn't have a choice. He couldn't let Lelouch find out about that girl's power, nor could he let it leak out to the public or, worse, his family. He would be disinherited if that happened!
He needed that girl's power and he couldn't afford his last chance at obtaining prestige slipping from his fingers.
It hurt even more knowing just how devastated Nunnally was going to be. Clovis was already planning on blaming it on the terrorists but that didn't mean that he was looking forward to seeing Nunnally cry. He always hated making her cry but he had no choice.
He really wished that Lelouch hadn't got caught up in this mess and had just stayed at the party while he handled everything.
"Your Highness!" Bartley said and Clovis opened his eyes.
"Has the girl been retrieved?" he asked.
"Ah, no, Your Highness," Bartley said nervously. "The driver of the truck was apparently alive enough to blow the truck up. The blast was mostly directed upward but it was a big enough distraction to allow Prince Lelouch, his knight, and the girl to escape."
Clovis's jaw clenched. "Damn it," he hissed. "I need that girl." He needed to get that girl back and he couldn't afford anyone seeing her, especially not when a battle was going on. If they saw her ability to regenerate firsthand then they could capture her and use her against Clovis and the Empire. And if the Liberators got their hands on her then, just as Clovis had told Bartley a few days earlier, that could spell out doom for the entire Empire. That was something that Clovis couldn't let happen; that girl's power was going to be his and, with it, he could be a contender to the throne and use it to better the Empire once he surpassed Schneizel, Cornelia, and Lelouch.
"I can't have that girl fall into the Liberators hands. Nor can I have anyone see her," Clovis murmured to himself before he stood up, coming to a decision in his mind, unaware that the instant he spoke his next words, he'd condemned himself. "I, Clovis la Britannia, Third Prince and Viceroy of Area 11, do hereby command you to destroy the Shinjuku Ghetto. Leave no one alive!"
. . .
Akiyama House, Shinjuku Ghetto
"Is the battle still going on?" Fuyuki Akiyama asked, coming to his father's side as they huddled near the back of their house, hoping that the gunfire and clashing knightmare frames and missiles and grenades wouldn't hit their home.
Hachiro nodded, wrapping his arms around Fuyuki and drawing him close to him. "I don't know what's going on but it seems that those terrorists that made an appearance on the other side of the ghetto are striking again," he said. "At least, that was what I heard while in the marketplace before I hurried back here. We should find someplace to hide out."
"Do you think Tadashi is all right?" Fuyuki asked as the two made their way toward the master bedroom, since that was the room that was room that might provide the most protection from the battle outside.
"I'm sure he is, Fuyuki."
"We haven't seen him in a while." The last message that Fuyuki got from his older brother was that he'd been asked to join Prince Lelouch vi Britannia's Royal Guard, something that Fuyuki was extremely proud of. Even if he still wasn't happy that his brother was part of the military, he did want his mother to be avenged and his brother's way was probably the best way of accomplishing that. Fuyuki, himself, wasn't much of a fighter, never has been, so he knew that he couldn't do it himself.
"He's probably very busy, especially since he is a member of a prince's Royal Guard," Hachiro said and Fuyuki could hear the pride in his father's voice.
"Probably," he agreed, a faint smile on his face. "It's still kinda hard to believe that he got such a position. I mean, considering he's an Honorary Britannian."
"Well, Prince Lelouch did choose an Honorary Britannians as his Knight of Honor as well," Hachiro reminded him.
Remembering watching that on the news, Fuyuki nodded in agreement. "Yeah..." he said but, before he could say anything, they both heard the door slamming open and the sound of boots walking on the living room floor.
Hachiro narrowed his eyes. "Get under the bed," he hissed, letting go of Fuyuki. "Don't make a sound."
"W...What about you?" Fuyuki whispered, knowing that it was likely terrorists, though why they would be entering his house, he didn't know.
"I'm going to see what's going on. If they're just terrorists seeking shelter then they might just ignore us," Hachiro murmured. "But if not...just go hide."
The fifteen-year-old hesitated but nodded slowly and climbed under the master bed while Hachiro stood up and made his way out of the master bedroom. He tried to remain as quiet as possible but, when he heard the sound of gunfire in the other room, he had to bite his lip so hard that he tasted blood to keep from saying anything.
Dad? What just happened? He thought as everything fell silent, then the sound of footsteps came to him. He gazed out beneath the bottom of the bed as feet entered the room.
"Spread out. There might be another here," one voice said and Fuyuki's eyes widened because the man sounded like a Britannian.
"According to those pictures, it'd only be a kid," another voice said uncertainly.
"We have our orders. No one is to be left alive. Besides, they're just Elevens," the first voice said dismissively and Fuyuki clenched his hand in a fist. Of course, he knew that not all Britannian soldiers were like those who'd saved him and Tadashi at Sapporo the year before but to hear them talk so callously…
And his father! His father didn't do anything but the Britannians killed him? Why? Why would they do that?
Fuyuki felt tears well up in his eyes and he gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to say a word. He just needed to stay quiet long enough for them to go away, then he could use the backdoor and get out of there, since he knew that he couldn't stay. They'd kill him if he did.
"There's no one here. Let's go to the next house," the second soldier said.
"Fine. I don't want to waste too much time in this stinkhole anyway," the first said and Fuyuki watched as their feet headed for the door and they walked out of the room, not even bothering on closing the door behind them. Fuyuki waited longer and only moved when he heard the front door opening.
He rolled out from under the bed and darted for the open door to the master bedroom. Leaving the room, he started to head for the backdoor but stopped when he caught sight of his father. He bit his lip to keep from crying; his father was lying on the cracked tile floor of the kitchen, eyes staring sightlessly and blood pooling in a puddle around him from the bullet wound through his chest.
It was just like what happened to his mother, except, this time, it was Britannia who'd done it.
Why? Why would you do this? We did nothing wrong, Fuyuki cried silently.
More gunfire echoed outside followed by explosions and screams of agony. Fuyuki swallowed and bolted for the backdoor, the tears he'd tried to hold at bay now falling from his eyes.
. . .
Streets, Shinjuku Ghetto
"They're killing everyone!" Kallen cried, staring in horror at the bloody scene as she jumped back in her Glasgow to avoid the Slash Harken that a Britannian had fired at her. All around her, the Japanese in the ghettos were getting gunned down; many of them were just running for their lives, trying to escape the battle, and shot in the back but some were actually being dragged out of their homes or Britannian soldiers were entering their their homes and coming out covered in bloodstains. It was a complete massacre and Kallen had no idea just what had caused it.
"What?" Reyes's voice shouted over the radio.
"They're killing everyone," Ohgi said grimly. "They aren't focusing on just us anymore, they're focusing on the civilians."
"Those goddamn bastards!" Tamaki cried.
Kallen, watching as a Sutherland turned its assault rifle to fire on a small group of fleeing Japanese that hadn't already been gunned down, curled her upper lip in a snarl. Oh no, I am not letting you harm them, she thought furiously and shot forward, firing her Slash Harkens at the Sutherland's arm, one crashed into the joint that connected the arm to its shoulder while the other missed so she retracted that one. She then dove forward, firing her assault rifle at the damage, causing parts of it to explode. She then fired both of her Slash Harkens again, one at the Sutherland's chest and the other at its factsphere. The damage was severe enough that the pilot had no choice but to eject.
"Reyes, Michal, can you provide any support?" Ohgi called.
"We're too far away and they've blocked off all non-Military access to the Shinjuku Ghetto. We're going to try to go around it but you're on your own right now," Michal said grimly.
Kallen's screen lit up and she swore. "We're gonna have to figure out something to do quick. I'm running low on power, only about thirty five or so minutes left," she said as she spun her Glasgow around and began looking for another enemy. "And those civilians...There's gotta be something we can do for them."
"...We can...try to get the Britannians to focus entirely on us but I don't see how we'll be able to do that with the limited resources we have on us. We weren't expecting a full battle," Ohgi said.
"And we can't help you there, unfortunately. Getting the knightmares that are probably the only thing that'll help us against the Britannians will take days since we have to go through the main base," Reyes said.
"I figured that," Ohgi said. "I guess we'll just have to deal with what we have."
I really hope it'll be enough, Kallen thought grimly.
. . .
Abandoned Subway Station, Shinjuku Ghetto
Lelouch and Suzaku, the former practically dragging the green-haired woman behind him, came to a halt to catch their breath, in Lelouch's case. Even if he'd managed to build up some stamina during basic training and during the battles he'd been in since then, he was still nowhere near on Suzaku's level. Suzaku wasn't even winded.
They were near the stairs that would take them to the abandoned subway station and Lelouch could hear the sound of gunfire and explosions sounding above.
Releasing the green-haired woman's arm, Lelouch turned to her. "Just what are you? Why would Clovis go as far as to kill me just to keep you a secret?" he asked.
The girl just blinked at him, obviously still too drugged to respond.
Lelouch was about to ask something else when he heard a noise above him. He frowned to himself as he glanced up the stairs. Have they found us? He thought and decided that there was no sense in alerting them, if it was Clovis's Royal Guard, to their location. Briefly, he recalled that he did have one thing that could give away where they were if it went off so he pulled out his phone and quickly shut it off. Suzaku, noticing that, quickly did the same thing and glanced at him, tilting his head to the side slightly toward the staircase.
In the secret language that they had developed during the invasion so as to avoid getting hurt or killed, that meant 'what do we do now?'
Lelouch gestured to the staircase with a short almost dismissive wave of his hand, nodding once. 'Check the situation. Stay quiet.' He then turned to the girl. "Be quiet," he whispered and followed Suzaku without waiting to see if the girl would listen to him.
The two, as quietly as possible, made their way up the stairs, crouching down when they heard a series of gunfire followed by screams of agony. The girl followed them, though she was trying to be quiet. When the gunfire fell silent, Lelouch gestured to Suzaku and the two crouched near the top of the stairs.
"...sure that the tunnel came out here?" the Royal Guard Captain's voice said.
"Yes, sir," another member of the Royal Guard said. "But it looks like it's just Elevens here but we've taken care of all of 'em. Guess we may as well help the 1st Regiment finish off the rest."
The sound of a child's crying came but was abruptly silenced when a member of the Royal Guard fired his gun in the direction of the crying.
Suzaku's eyes went wide while Lelouch's lips pressed in a very tight line, eyes narrowed. Clovis, would you really go so far as to kill innocents just to keep this girl a secret? He thought.
The girl had joined them by this point, when, suddenly, she slipped and let out a little gasp as she nearly tumbled back down the stairs. Suzaku grabbed her before she could fall but her gasp had alerted the Royal Guard to their location, causing Lelouch to start swearing in his mind.
"There, I heard something," one member of the Royal guard said and it wasn't long before the Royal Guard joined them. Suzaku was quick, though, and managed to knock out one Royal Guard member with a spinkick to the face while Lelouch and the green-haired woman were both grabbed by two other members of the Royal Guard. Another soldier fired his gun at Suzaku but the knight managed to dodge, though he wasn't able to dodge the next one that slammed into his chest, throwing him off his feet.
"Suzaku!" Lelouch cried.
Suzaku, gritting his teeth and clutching at his chest—thankfully, he was wearing a kevlar vest so he was probably just bruised—struggled to sit up but was tackled to the ground by a soldier, his face slammed hard into the concrete ground. Lelouch, himself, was thrown toward the wall but, while he did stumble, he managed to stay on his feet as he turned to face his elder half-brother's Royal Guard.
"We are sorry about this, Your Highness," the Captain said, his gun in his hand as the other soldiers gathered around the green-haired girl. "But we have our orders. Goodbye, Your Highness."
Is this really it? Lelouch thought, trying to keep his face blank, though he could feel small kernels of fear rear their ugly little heads within him.
The Captain pulled the trigger.
"He mustn't die!"
Lelouch, eyes wide with shock, watched as the green-haired woman broke through the soldiers surrounding her and threw herself in front of him. The bullet sank into her forehead, throwing her back and she collapsed on the ground, blood pool around her head.
Lelouch was now even more in shock. This strange girl that he didn't even know had given her life for him. Why? He thought, shakily finding himself on his knees, staring at the girl in utter shock. It didn't help that it made him think about how Suzaku had thrown himself in front of a bullet to save his life as well at Osaka, except that this girl had been hit by a forehead shot. Unlike Suzaku, he doubted that she'd survive that.
"Damn it. We were supposed to bring her back alive," the captain said nervously. He swallowed and then said, "All right, we'll just say this. We tried to retrieve the girl but both she, Prince Lelouch, and his knight had been caught by the terrorists and tortured to death." He pointed his gun at Lelouch again.
Damn it! This can't be it! I haven't even begun my plan. And what about Suzaku? The Student Council? Shirley? And Nunnally? Oh dear God, Nunnally! I can't leave her, not after everything she's gone through, Lelouch thought, his mind in chaos.
Suddenly, he felt someone grab his wrist, snapping him out of his thoughts and he turned to stare in utter shock at the green-haired girl. But that's impossible…
Just then, the area around him shimmered into pitch-black darkness and ribbons of bright blue light wound their way around him, dragging him deeper into the darkness.
You don't want it to end here, do you?
The darkness faded to be replaced by pure whiteness as Lelouch started, recognizing that voice as belonging to the girl. Even if he'd only heard her say one sentence, he still recognized it. That girl...what is this? He thought.
You appear to have a reason to live. If I were to give you power, would you be able to live still?
Flash of a time that wasn't his own filled with unidentifiable silhouettes surged around him.
I propose a deal. I will grant you a power, the Power of the Kings, and, in return, all I ask for is one simple thing; for you to grant me one wish.
The white was suddenly bathed in orange light and Lelouch looked up, stunned to find the planet of Jupiter looming above him against a star-speckled backdrop.
Know this though, the Power of the Kings will grant you a life of solitude. You will forever be separated from the rest of mankind.
The orange light took on a reddish tinge, making it seem as if the white landscape was on fire, though Lelouch only felt slight warmth.
If you accept this contract, you accept its terms. Therefore, Lelouch vi Britannia, do you accept?
Did he accept? This Power of the Kings, he didn't know what it would be and yet it might be able to get him out of this situation alive and he could both return to Nunnally and continue his plans to destroy Britannia.
Did he really have anything to lose by accepting this contract? He didn't. If he didn't accept it then he was dead. If he did then he might be able to get himself and Suzaku out of this situation alive.
So should he accept it?
The answer to that was simple.
Yes, I do hereby accept the terms of this contract.
And, just like that, he was suddenly back in the abandoned subway station. He blinked as he felt a faint burning sensation behind his left eye and he self-consciously covered it; it wasn't a painful sensation, it was just uncomfortable. And yet that power that the girl had granted him; he, somehow, knew just what it was and it was...an intriguing power.
"...last words, Your Highness?" the Captain of the Royal Guard asked. He must have been talking while Lelouch was experiencing that odd experience.
He chuckled, feeling a small demonic smirk cross his lips as he stood up and faced the Royal Guard, one hand still covering his left eye. "Let me ask you something. How does one expect a prince who hates his own country to live his life?" he said.
That caused the Royal Guard to shift uncomfortably, since Lelouch's words were borderline treason and he knew it, which was why he'd said them.
"What's the matter?" he said mockingly. "I thought you were going to kill me? I mean, I did speak words that are borderline treason and you already were going to kill me so why not shoot now?" Yes, he was taunting them. No, he was not sorry.
The Royal Guard shifted again, looking uncomfortable.
"Come now. I'm unarmed and defenseless and you ensured that my knight can't protect me," Lelouch went on, still in that mocking tone of voice and still with a demonic smirk on his lips. He was sure that was the cause of the Royal Guard's uncomfortableness.
They still didn't move.
"Or have you finally realized, only those who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed?" Lelouch said firmly, removing his left hand from his eye and his eye lit up with a red, bird-like sigil that he now understood was the symbol of Geass.
"I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command you: release Suzaku and then die!" he hissed.
The Royal Guard started, eyes widening as a ring of red appeared around their irises. Then the Captain stated, "Yes, Your Highness," as the soldiers who'd pinned Suzaku to the ground, and who's eyes also had that red ring around the iris, released him.
Suzaku scrambled to his feet, watching in wide-eyed horror as the Royal Guard turned their guns on themselves and pulled the trigger, causing blood to spray everywhere, splashing on Lelouch's cheek.
He barely paid attention to it as he was too busy marveling at his new power. A power that was like no other. Absolute Obedience. He didn't know how, perhaps the green-haired girl had something to do with it, but he was positive that was what it was called.
"Well then," he murmured to himself, that soft demonic smirk still on his lips.
. . .
Suzaku stared at his best friend and then at the Royal Guard's blood-soaked bodies and then at Lelouch again, jaw agape. He didn't know whether the soldiers who'd pinned him down had knocked him out and he was dreaming or not, though if he was, it certainly wasn't a pleasant dream. And if it was real then that meant…
"L...Lelouch?" Suzaku managed to get out.
Lelouch turned to gaze at him, his face softening as he raised a hand and gently wiped the blood off his cheek. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Y...Yeah...What...was that?" Suzaku exclaimed, waving a hand toward the Royal Guard's corpses, unable to look at them at the moment.
A loud boom sounded followed by more gunfire and Lelouch glanced toward it, lips pressed together in a frown.
"Explanations can come later. Right now, we need to stop this," Lelouch said, eyes taking on that thoughtful, calculating look that he always took on whenever he was facing a tricky opponent in chess. He wandered over to the Royal Guard, retrieving his radio, ignoring the bloodstains on it and Suzaku shivered a little, still not entirely sure what to make of what he saw.
"Suzaku, I have a plan," Lelouch said finally, turning his amethyst eyes to Suzaku. "Will you help me?"
Suzaku may not know what had just happened but there was no denying that he would help Lelouch. Lelouch was his prince and, while Suzaku didn't approve of what Lelouch just did—nor did he understand just what happened—he would still follow and help his prince. After all, Lelouch was his best friend and like a brother to him, for one, and it was because of Lelouch that Suzaku had actually risen in the ranks, something that no Honorary Britannian has ever done before, and was one step closer to his goal, for another.
"Yes, my prince," Suzaku said firmly.
"I know you well enough to know that you are not going to like my plan, however," Lelouch said.
Suzaku's lips thinned. "I will still do as you command, my prince," he said.
Lelouch's lips curved into a smile. "Very well," he said. "Then our first step is that we're going to have to split up."
"What?!"
"I can't call the Black Knights here, Suzaku," Lelouch said, turning the radio he'd taken from the captain of the Royal Guard in his hands. "If I do then, as I already told you, the chaos would be intensified simply because no one would know who the enemy is. That means in order to stop this madness, I am going to have to seek aid from another source."
Another boom sounded nearby.
"And I have the perfect source," Lelouch added and went on to explain the rest of his plan to Suzaku.
Suzaku stared as the plan echoed in his mind. "Forgive me, my prince, but are you freaking crazy?!" he exclaimed.
Lelouch blinked, looking thoughtful. "It's possible," he said finally.
Suzaku groaned. "Okay, first of all, how are you going to get the terrorists to actually work with you? Secondly, how, exactly, are you going to give the terrorists an advantage to the point that Prince Clovis's forces will be forced to focus on them and not the civilians? And thirdly, how do you expect me to survive rejoining your Royal Guard without you? Jeremiah will kill me if he finds out that I left you behind!"
"I'll contact them personally and explain the situation. I will reassure Jeremiah that it wasn't your fault and you were just following my orders," Lelouch said.
"My first priority is your safety, my prince. You can't really expect me to just leave you behind enemy lines like this," Suzaku exclaimed.
"They won't have to know that we split up of our own accord. They can just think that the terrorists separated us. Besides, we could use the Lancelot, Suzaku, to keep the terrorists on their toes while also giving me time to get back to the G1. Once I speak to Clovis and convince him to order a ceasefire then it'll be over."
"I don't like this," Suzaku said. "I really don't." He was having a bad feeling about this.
"Suzaku," Lelouch said, narrowing his eyes. "You said that you would do as I command. Therefore, I command you to follow my orders."
Suzaku sighed. "I know what I said. All right, fine, my prince, but Jeremiah is not going to be happy at best." And will try to kill me at worst, he thought.
"As I said, leave Jeremiah to me," Lelouch said. "Now go. The longer we dawdle here, the more innocents will be killed."
Suzaku bowed. "Yes, my prince," he said. He paused as he straightened and added, "Stay safe."
"You too," Lelouch said and turned around before jogging to the other end of the subway station, slipping out of it into the shadows of the ghetto beyond.
Suzaku, sending out a silent plea to whichever deity would be willing to listen to him to keep Lelouch safe, turned and darted back the way he had come.
. . .
Streets, Shinjuku Ghetto
"Those damn Britannians!" Kallen shouted in fury as she sped away from a particularly difficult Sutherland who'd managed to sever one of her Glasgow's arms before she got away. The battle was getting worse; the Kozuki Resistance didn't have much on them and Michal and Reyes were still too far away to be of any use. To make mattes worse, Kallen was running out of energy to her Glasgow.
She whirled around and fired her Slash Harkens at the Sutherland that was chasing her but the pilot dodged out of the way before firing his own back at her. She dodged but she was really running out of time and energy. She gritted her teeth. I have to keep going. I have to draw Britannia's attention! Those civilians...they shouldn't have to suffer, not when this is our fault to begin with, she thought.
She knew that it was her resistance's fault because they'd stolen that poison gas capsule, even though they were only doing it because if Britannia released it then the causalities would likely be even greater than what they were facing now. Not that now was any better but they'd been trying to save lives. The Liberators, at least the ones that were following Unity, didn't want to kill innocent civilians.
Kallen wasn't surprised, at all, that Britannia was all too willing to kill innocent civilians though.
She gritted her teeth as she felt gunfire crash into her Glasgow's already battered form and started weaving in an attempt to avoid the gunfire. While it did help a bit, she was still getting hit by the gunfire.
Her screens flashed a warning and she swore. Only fifteen minutes left, she thought as she swerved again.
Suddenly, the radio attached to her Glasgow crackled to life. "The west entrance," a strange voice said. "Head for the west entrance."
What the…? "Who is this? How did you get this frequency?" Kallen demanded.
"That doesn't matter. If you want to win then follow my orders."
To win? Kallen hadn't even thought about winning. All she thought about was drawing Britannia's attention long enough to give the surviving civilians time to get out of the Shinjuku Ghetto or, at least, find a place to hide until Britannia was no longer hunting them. However, she also knew that the same thing would happen if they won this battle, and she would be lying to herself if she said that she didn't want to win.
However, the situation seemed so hopeless that Kallen had given up, earlier, on the idea of winning.
But this voice was saying that they could win if they followed his orders?
She didn't trust this voice but did she really have anything to lose by listening to him?
No, no she did not.
She swerved and sped rapidly toward the west entrance to the ghettos, briefly aware of the fact that two more Sutherlands had joined the first that had been chasing her. She glided onto the tracks, heading toward the west entrance.
"Okay, I'm here. Now what?" Kallen asked the voice on the radio, hearing the sound of a train coming in her direction. She wondered why a train would be heading into the middle of a battle, unless, of course, they didn't know the battle was going on. She decided that it didn't matter right now as the voice came back.
"Since you have granted me your trust in this matter, I will grant you victory. Jump onto that train," the voice said as the train roared into view.
"Understood," Kallen said and, jerking the controls back tightly, leapt onto the top of the train, gliding down the length a bit as the train rammed into the three Sutherlands. It didn't damage the knightmares and started to slow down a bit.
The Sutherlands were about to leap onto the train after her but two were struck by two Slash Harkens that shot out from an abandoned building next to the tracks, she briefly noticed that it was a Sutherland as well, damaging them enough to force the two pilots to eject. The third Sutherland whirled around but Kallen didn't wait for it to try to attack the knightmare that'd helped her. She launched herself at the final Sutherland, firing each of her Slash Harken straight into its factsphere and chest respectively, damaging them beyond repair. The pilot ejected and Kallen let out the breath that she didn't realize she'd been holding.
"Hey, thanks, but how'd you get your hands on a Sutherland?" she asked, turning to gaze at the abandoned building as the train came to a halt but blinked when she saw that the Sutherland was gone.
"Kallen!" A shout sounded down below and Kallen turned to find Ohgi, Sugiyama, and Tamaki running toward the train.
"Did you hear that voice?" Ohgi asked as Kallen jumped down from the top of the train.
"You heard it too?" Kallen said, surprised, over the loudspeaker.
"Yeah, helped us outta a pickle we were in. Yoshida's group should be joining us soon, by the way." Sugiyama admitted, shifting the missile launcher that was attached to a strap on his back. "Who was that voice though?"
Ohgi shook his head. "I don't..." he began.
"Are you the leader?" the voice came back, this time speaking through Ohgi's radio, loud enough for the three to hear him.
Ohgi lifted it to his lips. "Um, yeah, I guess," he said as Yoshida and the rest of his group joined them.
"Then I present you with what's inside this cargo train. They will be your tools to stop this atrocity. As long as you follow my orders, they are yours to use," the voice said.
Kallen blinked and glanced at the train, wondering just what was inside it.
Sugiyama walked over to the cargo train and, grasping the door, opened it and stared in wide-eyed surprise.
"No way," Tamaki, who'd come to Sugiyama's side, exclaimed.
Kallen moved her Glasgow forward and her eyes went wide with shock when she saw the neat line of brand-new Sutherlands packed into the cargo hold. "How the hell…?!" she exclaimed.
"Woman in the Glasgow," the voice said in a clipped, commanding tone.
"Ah, yeah?" Kallen pulled herself out of her shock to respond to the voice's tone.
"You will remain in that Glasgow. You'll be running decoy. How's your energy level?"
Kallen, deciding that if she wanted to stop this battle then she may as well listen to the voice—after all, he had saved her life earlier—glanced at her screen. "Less than fifteen minutes worth," she said.
"Then recharge. I'll contact you again in ten minutes for your next set of orders," the voice said and the radio went silent.
"Should we really listen to this voice?" Yoshida asked worriedly. "I mean, how in the world did this guy even manage to get all these Sutherlands?"
"Do we really have a choice though?" Sugiyama said with a frown. "The citizens of this ghetto are getting killed and we have tools to actually stop it."
"You're right. All right. We'll give him the benefit of the doubt," Ohgi said finally. "Since we need to stop this before more civilians are killed."
Kallen nodded and moved over to the cargo hold to recharge her energy filler while thinking about that voice and wondering just who it was.
. . .
Edge of the Shinjuku Ghetto
As soon as Suzaku got above ground and moved to the west of the abandoned subway tunnel, due to the battle taking place primarily in the east, he moved to the edge of the ghetto while contacting Lelouch's Royal Guard. He told them that Lelouch wanted them to meet him at the edge of the ghetto while, in his mind, he was coming up with a way to explain why Lelouch wasn't with him.
And hope that Jeremiah would let him explain before trying to kill him.
Suzaku shivered but forced himself to keep going. It'd taken him a good twenty minutes to get to the edge and he was grateful that Lelouch's Royal Guard had managed to get there in that amount of time. They'd come in their knightmares, which Suzaku knew was a good thing if Lelouch's plan was to work out.
He still didn't like it, especially not with how much risk his prince was putting himself in, but he had said he would follow his prince's orders and he would.
Though, considering the vicious death glare that Jeremiah was giving him, he was starting to wonder if it was worth it.
"Where is Prince Lelouch?" Jeremiah demanded as Suzaku joined them. He looked like he was about ready to throttle or shoot him.
"We got separated," Suzaku said. "He managed to contact me and told me to tell you to meet up here to help to clear the way for him to get back to relative safety." It was only the bare minimum of his reasoning but Suzaku really didn't have enough time to explain everything; besides, he didn't even understand everything, certainly not how Lelouch had gotten Prince Clovis's Royal Guard to kill themselves.
He inwardly shivered at the memory of that and shoved it aside. Lelouch said that he would explain later so he would wait until then.
"You left him there?" Jeremiah growled, hands clenched into a fist.
"I couldn't get to him," Suzaku said defensively. "There were too many terrorists between us and I...he ordered me to leave and get help." He really wasn't a good liar but he hoped that his friends and Jeremiah hadn't caught his lie.
"What can we do? We don't even know the situation here," Rayne said with a frown. "And how the hell did you two end up in this situation to begin with?"
"Long story," Suzaku admitted.
Jeremiah's radio went off at that moment and he pulled it from his belt and brought it to his lips. "This is Gottwald," he stated firmly.
"Jeremiah," Lelouch's voice sounded softly, making it seem as if he was trying not to attract anyone's attention.
"Your Highness! Are you all right? Where are you?" Jeremiah asked.
"...Not entirely sure. After those terrorists separated me from my knight, I knew that I would be killed if I remained so I went off to find some place to hide until I could find a way to break through but..." The radio abruptly cut out, which Suzaku knew was really just Lelouch contacting those terrorists he was 'aiding' at the moment and giving them orders.
But, based on that little action, Suzaku wondered: just how the hell was Lelouch able to convince the terrorists to work with him?
"Your Highness?" Jeremiah said worriedly.
"...Sorry...had to move to a new location. Those terrorists nearly spotted me but...I believe Clovis must've called for reinforcement Sutherlands but the terrorists have managed to steal them. That's going to even out the playing field a bit and make it even harder for me to get past the fighting. Did Suzaku tell you about my orders for you?"
"He said that you needed our help to clear a path for you to get through," Lila said.
"Exactly. I want you to aid Clovis and fight off those terrorists. If they get put at a disadvantage then they'll focus more on the enemy than on anything else and I'll be able to use that to slip past them. I'll contact you again when I get back to the G1. I have to speak to my brother anyway. And Jeremiah, do not be too angry with my knight. He was following my orders."
Jeremiah's lips pressed into a thin line. "Very well, Your Highness," he said and tucked the radio away as Lelouch cut the call. He gave Suzaku a cool look but said nothing, except, "Let's get moving!"
He turned and strode to his Sutherland.
Tadashi came to Suzaku's side, patting his shoulder. "Ah, you were just doing as you were ordered so he can't stay mad at ya. C'mon, ya can ride with me 'till we get to the G1," he said. He was only allowed to pilot a knightmare because of Lelouch; anyone else would have adhered to Britannia's policy of discrimination but Lelouch proved, when he knighted Suzaku, that he cared little for that policy, and for what people thought of him.
Suzaku nodded and followed Tadashi over to his knightmare.
. . .
Shinjuku Ghetto
Lelouch chuckled as he leaned back into the seat of the Sutherland he'd stolen, flipping around the black king chess piece in his hand; he'd gotten that from a chess board he'd found in the warehouse where he'd gotten his Sutherland. It really hadn't been hard to get the base to send a shipment of brand-new Sutherlands without the IFF transponders activated nor had it been hard to obtain a Sutherland for himself. For the latter, one of the Sutherlands that'd been fighting had run into him and Lelouch, after discovering that his new power required eye contact, had convinced him to get down from his Sutherland and then Geassed him into giving it up. For the former, he just had to call General Andon, tell him that he needed the shipment to handle a terrorist threat in the Shinjuku Ghetto and Andon had agreed to do so.
Now he was commanding the terrorists while putting his plan with his Royal Guard into action. All he needed to do was grant the terrorists a strong advantage over Clovis's forces so that when his Royal Guard stepped in to aid Clovis, Clovis would actually be needing it. However, this was all being done just so he could get to the G1 without getting caught in the crossfire of the battle and to draw attention away from the civilians.
Lelouch hadn't been lying to Suzaku when he said that he was going to convince Clovis to call for a ceasefire but that wasn't all he was going to do.
He'd seen the many innocent bodies that were strewn across the streets of the Shinjuku Ghetto, bringing back terrible memories of trekking through a bloodstained and war-torn Japan during the invasion. And, this time, it had been because of Clovis that all those innocent people had been murdered, and all because of that girl!
A girl who had the power to grant other people powers of their own.
A girl who'd, somehow, managed to survive a gunshot wound through the head long enough to grant Lelouch that power.
Either way, Clovis was responsible for this massacre.
He'd even ordered the death of his own half-brother, which made Lelouch angry but also faintly distressed. Clovis was one of only two of his half-brothers that he actually truly cared about and, yet, that brotherly love had been destroyed the instant Clovis had given that order.
What happened to you, Brother Clovis? You've always been one to get upset when things don't go your way or you lost something that was yours but this? This is going too far, even for you, Lelouch thought, pressing his lips tightly together.
His radio crackled and Kallen's voice sounded over it. "Hey, I've drawn the squad to the designated location. What now?" she asked.
Lowering his voice so that Kallen couldn't recognize it, Lelouch said, "Now, N1, N2, P1, P2, fire at 3 o'clock."
"What? Why the hell would we do that?" the loudmouth that was P2 exclaimed.
"Do as he says," the one codenamed N1 said firmly.
The terrorists did as Lelouch ordered them to and the screen in front of him flashed red with various 'LOST' signals; he could see that the terrorists had succeeded in taking out a large chunk of Clovis's forces. His Royal Guard should be showing up at any moment but, until they were in position to join the fight, there were five moves that Clovis could make.
To his faint surprise, Clovis made the worst move he could possibly make.
He broke the encirclement around the G1.
"Clovis, Clovis, you haven't learned at all," Lelouch chided and keyed on his radio. "Q1"—that was the codename he gave to Kallen—"Do you have a map of the area?"
"It's an old one without all the landmarks," Kallen said.
"It'll do," Lelouch said and gave his next set of orders, smirking to himself. Check, Clovis, he thought and, turning his Sutherland around, he guided it away from the building he was in, keying on the radio he had connected to Jeremiah and his Royal Guard.
"Have you reached the G1 yet?" he asked once confirming that the radio he was using to be in contact with the terrorists was off on his end.
"We're here, Your Highness," Jeremiah stated firmly.
"Good. Clovis's forces seem to be in need of some help. Aid them and draw them further east. I'll be able to get by once that happens. Suzaku, use the Lancelot. It'll turn the tide of this battle in our favor quickly enough."
"Yes, Your Highness," Jeremiah and his Royal Guard stated.
"Yes, my prince," Suzaku said firmly.
Lelouch turned off that radio on his end and put it down. He grabbed the controls and jumped from the building he was in, knowing that the distraction from the battle would be enough to mask his movements. He then sped toward where the G1 was located, moving swiftly as soon as he saw his Royal Guard and the white form of the Lancelot launching themselves into the battle.
. . .
Suzaku darted over to where the A.S.E.E.C.'s mobile base was located by the G1. He wondered briefly just how Lloyd had managed to get to the Shinjuku Ghetto as quickly as he had, since he'd only contacted them as soon as he'd gotten above ground. He pushed the thought away as he skidded to a halt in the hangar of the mobile base, removing the activation key for the Lancelot from around his neck.
"Is it ready to launch?" he asked breathlessly as he darted over to the looming white knightmare frame.
"Yup. Everything's ready. Ohh, I'm so happy that I get to get more battle data!" Lloyd exclaimed happily.
Cecile sighed and studied Suzaku curiously as he grabbed the access cable and it carried him to the knightmare's cockpit chair. "Is everything all right?" she asked.
"I certainly hope so," Suzaku said and closed the hatch of the knightmare. Once the cockpit chair was in place, he inserted the activation key, typed in the activation code, shifted into launching position, and launched. Landspinners spun on the ground as he shot away from the mobile base and head straight toward where the majority of the fighting was taking place on the east end of the ghetto.
His communicator chimed before Jeremiah's voice sounded over it. "Major Frost, Lieutenant Frost, come with me. We'll flank the terrorists on the west side and push them further east," he said firmly. "Lieutenant Moore, Major Duncan, Warrant Officer Akiyama, provide fire support for Major Kururugi."
Major. Even though a few months had gone by since his Knighting Ceremony, it was still surreal that Suzaku had attained the rank of Major. It had been automatically given to him when he'd accepted the title of Knight of Honor for Lelouch, much to the contempt of the vast majority of the Britannians, military and non-military alike. He didn't care what they thought of him but he did still feel vaguely uncomfortable whenever someone referred to him by his rank.
Tadashi had also been promoted and Suzaku knew he had nearly fainted from shock when he'd been told that.
"Yes, sir," Tadashi, Lila, and Dimitri said.
"What of the civilians?" Tadashi asked worriedly.
Suzaku keyed on his headset. "My prince would never want the civilians to get hurt. I suggest focusing entirely on the terrorists themselves," he said, aware that he did, technically speaking, outrank Lelouch's Royal Guard because of his title of Knight of Honor.
"Agreed. Besides, we are only doing this to give His Highness time to get back to safety," Jeremiah said firmly. 'Since he was left behind enemy lines' wasn't said but Suzaku wouldn't be surprised if that was what Jeremiah was thinking. He, himself, was thinking it only due to the bad feeling that refused to go away.
Pushing that feeling aside for now, he headed straight for the heart of the battle, withdrawing the MVSs strapped to his side and activating them as he launched himself at the enemy. Gunfire exploded behind him at the knightmares as Lila, Dimitri, and Tadashi shot rapidly after them; none of them were Aces nor were they part of the knightmare corps but they certainly knew how to pilot. All members of the military knew how to pilot; it was a requirement after all.
Suzaku sliced and slashed his way through the stolen Sutherlands around them. He'd noticed within moments of the battle beginning that some of the Sutherlands didn't have IFF transponders, since they weren't appearing on his screen, and figured that they were the enemy. After all, Lelouch had said that he'd ordered a whole squad of Sutherlands without IFF transponders to give to the terrorists.
Even if he didn't approve of the plan, and knew of just how much risk his prince was putting himself in, Suzaku had to admit that it was a brilliant one. Not that he was surprised; Lelouch was a strategical genius after all.
A Slash Harken fired rapidly at him and Suzaku nimbly dodged out of the way, spinning around in time to see a one-armed red Glasgow speeding rapidly toward him, retracting the Slash Harken it had fired at him. It pulled out a rifle and began firing at him but Suzaku angled the Lancelot's arm in front of him, activating the Blazes Luminous. The bullets reflected off the glowing green shield as he shot forward, slashing the MVS in his knightmare's other hand toward the Glasgow's remaining arm.
The Glasgow dodged swiftly out of the way, firing a Slash Harken at Suzaku who sliced toward it with his MVSs, forcing the pilot to retract it before he lost one of the few weapons he had left. Suzaku shot forward again, once again intent on severing that last arm but the Glasgow dodged. It was fast but Suzaku was faster, able to force the Glasgow to remain on the defensive.
"Suzaku, do you need any help?" Lila asked.
"I doubt it. He seems to be holding his own against that pilot, though that pilot's pretty good," Tadashi commented. "Why don't we make sure no one gets a shot at his back?"
"All right," Lila said.
"Very well. Any word from His Highness?" Dimitri asked as the three knightmares shot past where Suzaku and the Glasgow were fighting and launched themselves at a few Sutherlands without IFF transponders that were fighting some members of the 1st Regiment nearby.
"Not yet," Suzaku said, pressing his lips together tightly as he dodged another Slash Harken being fired at him. Lelouch, where are you? You should've gotten to the G1 by now, he thought.
. . .
Alley, Shinjuku Ghetto
Lelouch pressed his back against the wall, peering around the corner at the two terrorists that were firing at some Britannian foot soldiers nearby and gritted his teeth. The foot soldiers had appeared around the corner to start firing on the civilians and two terrorists, who'd been trying to help the civilians, had started fighting back instantly. At the same time, Lelouch, who'd already vacated his Sutherland earlier, had taken refuge in an alley at the other end of the block. Unfortunately, the alley also happened to be a dead end so the only way he could get to the G1 was to get past the fighting.
Since they were fighting two to nine, it wasn't a surprise when one of the terrorists was killed. The other, upon seeing his comrade die, bolted, firing over his shoulder as he did so. He then removed a grenade from his belt, lobbed it over his shoulder and dived into the same alley Lelouch was hiding in, crashing into him. Both of them went tumbling away from the mouth of the alley as a resounding boom sounded as the grenade went off.
The terrorist lifted his head and his eyes widened. "Wait, you're..." he began.
"Obey my every order," Lelouch ordered sharply as his left eye burned with the glowing red sigil of Geass.
The terrorist stiffened as a red ring appeared around his irises. "Yes, Your Highness," he said.
"Get off," Lelouch said and the terrorist quickly scrambled off him, standing nearby like a puppet waiting for the puppet-master to start pulling its strings.
The Demon Prince ignored the terrorist as he edged toward the mouth of the alley, frowning as he spotted that the grenade had taken out seven members of the squad. The two remaining members were covered in cuts from the debris, likely, but, otherwise, seemed all right. If they got closer and saw him then Lelouch could use his Geass on them to make them forget ever seeing him. But he didn't know the limits of his power; he only knew, at the moment, that it required eye contact.
As Lelouch scanned the street, he paused when he spotted a boy that looked like he was about fifteen years old, and was oddly familiar, crouched by an overturned cart, terror on his tear-stained face. His dirty blonde hair was covered in dirt and grime and his clothes were torn in various places as he flicked his eyes from the soldiers to the other side of the street, tensing when he spotted Lelouch.
Not that Lelouch was the threat he should really be focusing on. Lelouch's lips thinned and his hand went to the gun holstered at his side as the two Britannian soldiers came to a stop near the overturned cart.
"I found a citizen," the soldier said, grabbing the boy's arm and he yelped as he was dragged onto the street by the first soldier. He caught Lelouch's eyes and the fear in his eyes turned to hope. It was clear he was hoping that Lelouch would do something.
"Kill him. Prince Clovis ordered that everyone in the ghetto be killed," the second soldier said.
Lelouch's jaw clenched and he removed his gun. "Fire at the first soldier's shoulder. Do not hit the kid," he ordered the Geassed terrorist at his side.
"Yes, Your Highness," the terrorist said and removed his gun before darting out into the street, firing at the first soldier while Lelouch fired at the second to ensure that the Geassed terrorist wasn't killed. He was still useful.
The first terrorist screamed in pain as the bullet struck his shoulder and he let go of the boy as blood splattered out of the wound onto the boy. The bullet Lelouch fired struck the second terrorist in the chest and he collapsed with a cry. Lelouch, scanning the street to make sure there were no more soldiers, stepped onto the street, lowering the gun.
"Do you have anywhere to go, kid?" he asked as his amethyst eyes scanned the area.
The boy swallowed and shook his head. "N...No, ah, Your...Your Highness," he stammered out, still terrified.
Lelouch's lips pressed together in thought. Finally, he said, "Go into that building,"—he pointed to the building they were standing beside—"and find a place to hide. If anyone comes in, play dead. I'll send some of my men to check up on you when the battle's over."
"W...Why? I mean...I'm an Eleven," the boy said.
Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "Why would I let someone who's innocent get hurt for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?" he said.
The boy was silent for a moment, studying him. "Brother was right. You really are nothing like the media portrays you," he said finally.
"Brother?"
"Tadashi Akiyama. He's part of your Royal Guard. I'm his little brother Fuyuki," the boy said with a slight bow.
Lelouch hummed, briefly recalling that Tadashi did mention that he had a little brother. That explains why he reminded me of someone, he thought.
A boom sounded nearby and Lelouch looked up, brow furrowing. "The battle's getting worse," he murmured. If I don't go now then there probably won't be anyone left in the ghetto by the time the ceasefire's called, he thought. "Go and hide for now, Fuyuki. I'll send your brother to come and find you when this is over. I'm sure he'll want reassurance that you're all right anyway."
Fuyuki nodded. "Thank you," he whispered and darted off to the building that Lelouch had indicated and slipped inside it.
Lelouch turned to the Geassed terrorist at his side, noticing that he was still under his control. Hmm, I should probably test, at some point, just how long it lasts. Then again, there are a lot of things that I'm going to have to test, he thought. There were also a lot of questions that he had but also some answers as well, especially about Tara.
He now knew of just what that power Tara had used on him, his sister, and his classmates at the museum.
She had a Geass as well, but one that was very different from his own.
Pushing the thought out of his mind to focus on the matter at hand, Lelouch ordered the terrorist to follow him and darted off to the G1, going over the plan in his mind. He needed to get to Clovis, convince him to issue a ceasefire, and question him; with his Geass, he'd be able to get the truth out of Clovis. And since he now had the chance to actually get the truth out of his brother, Lelouch decided to also question him about his mother. He hadn't had a chance in the times that he and Clovis had spoken and still wasn't entirely sure whether he could trust Clovis's word anyway. But, either way, once he got the truth about why Clovis would go so far as to order the deaths of all the citizens of the ghetto, the majority of whom hadn't done anything wrong, and order the death of Lelouch himself, then…
Well, then he would do what needed to be done to ensure that nothing like that happened again.
He turned to the terrorist at his side. "I order you to..." he began.
. . .
Damn, this guy's fast, Kallen thought, gritting her teeth as she dodged around the Slash Harkens the white knightmare frame fired at her and fired her own back at him. They had been fighting near the heart of the ghetto for the past fifteen minutes and neither of them was gaining and advantage over the other. She didn't know who the pilot of the white knightmare frame was, only knowing that it had participated in the Battle of Osaka and the Battle of Sapporo, but she did know that he was good.
But so was she.
She grinned as she dodged out of the way and fired a round of bullets at the white knightmare and, when he moved to block them with that damn green shield of his, she fired a Slash Harken at his arm. She scowled a moment later when he managed to dodge out of the way but she, too, dodged out of the way of those glowing red swords that sliced toward her.
They were both fast enough that they were able to avoid the majority of their opponent's attacks but it was clear that the white knightmare had the advantage in terms of speed, skill, and his armament. Kallen was running on limited power and limited weapons but she knew that she could hold her own for a little while longer. She just needed to hold out for as long as she possibly could because if she didn't then the civilians would pay the price.
"Kallen, how are you doing?" Ohgi's voice asked as Kallen dodged out of the way of another Slash Harken.
"Pretty much a stalemate. I'm fighting that white knightmare frame," Kallen replied.
"That one? Wow," Tamaki said.
"Reyes and Michal have managed to make it to the ghetto but they don't think they need to provide much support. Those knightmares that voice gave us certainly gave us the advantage, but the addition of reinforcements has us evenly matched again," Ohgi said.
"And the civilians?"
"There aren't many left but Michal noticed that the newcomers aren't firing at the civilians. They're focused entirely on us," Ohgi said.
Kallen frowned. "Well, if these reinforcements are commanded by who I'm pretty sure they are commanded by then I'm not surprised," she asked, swiftly gliding to the side to avoid a thrust from the white knightmare's red sword.
"Also, we've lost contact with Yoshida and that Yamato Alliance member. Inoue is trying to raise him now but he's not answering," Ohgi said.
Kallen frowned and jumped back to avoid another slice from the white knightmare's other red sword and fired her rifle at him, thankful that it could be used with only one hand. She also fired a Slash Harken but the white knightmare caught the bullets with his green shield and sliced toward the cable connected to the Slash Harken, forcing her to retract it quickly.
"This is Reyes. You will not believe this!" Reyes's voice exclaimed over the radio.
"What is it?" Ohgi asked in confusion.
"The Demon Prince! He's here! In the ghetto!"
"What?!" Kallen exclaimed and her sudden surprise nearly cost her but she managed to dodge a slice from that red blade. "What do you mean 'he's here'?"
"We just saw him briefly from our vantage point when we arrived before he ducked out of sight," Michal explained.
"Wait, I see him again. He's heading for the G1. What the hell is he even doing here?" Reyes wondered aloud.
"Doesn't matter. This might be your chance to capture the prince, if you can get to him before he gets to the G1, and fulfill your end of your bargain with Unity," Michal said.
"Are you sure? We are in the middle of a battle right now," Tamaki said.
"Yeah. I, for one, got my hands full," Kallen said, dodging a Slash Harken being fired her way.
"We could send Taichi and Susumu," Minami's voice sounded over the radio. "Last I heard, they were in that area anyway." Taichi and Susumu were two of three former members of the Yamato Alliance who fled to the Shinjuku Ghetto following the Yamato Alliance's attack on the lab that Michal and Reyes had orchestrated to give them time to steal the gas capsule.
Kallen, like the rest of the Kozuki Resistance, didn't really care for the Yamato Alliance because of their recent tendency to get innocents involved, a tendency that only started when their former leader Izumi was killed. Still, Taichi and Susumu were two of Reyes and Michal's three spies within the Yamato Alliance, and the only reason why Michal and Reyes were able to get the Yamato Alliance to pull what they pulled, hence why they'd fled to the Shinjuku Ghetto. They were there on Michal's orders and Michal's recent orders for them was to follow Ohgi's orders.
"That might be best. Taichi! Susumu! Are you there?" Ohgi called over the radio as Kallen, gritting her teeth as a Slash Harken from the white knightmare made it past her defenses and nearly lodged itself in her factsphere, quickly dodged out of the way. She ignored Ohgi talking with Reyes and Michal's two spies as she refocused her attention on her stubborn but rather skilled opponent.
. . .
This pilot is really stubborn, Suzaku thought as he and the red Glasgow continued to fight, their fight taking them from the heart of the Shinjuku Ghetto further south toward where the G1 was located. He gritted his teeth because he still hadn't receive a confirmation from his prince that he'd gotten to safety and that bad feeling was getting worse and worse with each passing second.
"Any word from His Highness?" Lila asked quietly.
"Nothing," Suzaku said as he dodged out of the way of the Glasgow as it charged at him and fired his Slash Harken at the Glasgow's side, only for the pilot to fire his own back at his. The two Slash Harkens crashed into each other, causing their paths to divert in opposite directions; Suzaku's sailed through a window while the Glasgow's pilot's nearly got tangled in a broken balcony.
"Did he run into some trouble?" Tadashi asked.
"I don't know," Suzaku said, pressing his lips tightly together in a thin line and deciding that if Lelouch didn't contact him in the next five minutes then he would stop his fight against this Glasgow and go looking for his prince. Besides, only about ten minutes had actually gone by so he could just be paranoid.
Even if that bad feeling refused to go away.
. . .
G1 Base, Shinjuku Ghetto
After narrowly avoiding getting caught by two terrorists who'd chased after him for a good block before Lelouch managed to find a hiding place to avoid them, he finally managed to reach the G1 base. He honestly wasn't surprised to find the terrorist he'd Geassed already waiting where he'd told them to wait; his plan hinged on just how long his Geass would keep working on the terrorist. If it stopped before he got to the final stage of his plan then he would be in trouble.
He honestly didn't know why those terrorists were trying to capture him alive, given that they'd said as much and hadn't shot at him, though. It reminded him of those orders that the Liberators had received at Sapporo but it just didn't make sense; why would they want to capture him alive when they already told him that they wanted him dead? Unless it was to torture him to death as they had Major General Stromberg. That was a very strong possibility, he realized but pushed the thought away and, once again, focused on what was going on.
He gave the terrorist a brief, prearranged signal, and then made his way toward the soldiers. The soldiers tensed but relaxed when they saw who it was and the first soldier saluted. "Your Highness, we didn't realize that you had been caught up in this mess," he said.
"Save the pleasantries. I'm here to speak to my brother and you will remain on guard duty and pay no attention to the person who comes into the base behind me," Lelouch said, his eye lit up with the Geass sigil as he held the gaze of the soldier, and the soldiers around him, much like he had Clovis's Royal Guard.
They both stiffened, their eyes glowing red before they saluted. "Yes, Your Highness," they stated and Lelouch, deactivating his Geass, walked past them, heading for the doors to the base, briefly glancing over his shoulder at the battle that was still raging. He mentally timed it in his head and, realized, that if he wanted to get the timing just right, he would have to call Suzaku and his Royal Guard back now.
He grimaced because he knew that Suzaku was not going to be happy, especially since he never told his Knight about what was going to happen after he talked his brother into issuing the ceasefire but, then, he didn't have to know the full truth behind it. Lelouch just had to make it seem as if it was Clovis's men's fault.
He made his way onto the first floor of the base, studying the group as he activated his Geass and gave each of them his next set of specific orders before making his way down the hall to the elevator that would take him to the floor on which was Clovis's command center. He pulled out his communicator and connected to Suzaku's as he did so.
"Suzaku?" he said.
"Yes, my prince? Have you gotten to safety?" Suzaku asked.
"Yes. I've reached the G1, however...something seems...wrong," Lelouch said, putting in some worry in his voice as he neared the door to the command center.
"What's wrong?" Suzaku asked worriedly.
Lelouch listened as the sound of gunshots sounded on the first floor, muffled by the walls but just loud enough for Suzaku to hear.
"What was…? My prince! Are you all right?" Suzaku demanded worriedly.
"I'm fine. Clovis's men will handle it. I'm going to speak to him now. Go ahead and head back to the base. Contact Jeremiah and tell him to withdraw as well," Lelouch said.
"I'm on my way, my prince," Suzaku said firmly, though the worry still existed in his voice and he disconnected the call.
Now, if I've timed this right then all the conditions will have been met, Lelouch thought as he turned off the communicator and returned it to his belt.
. . .
Abandoned Warehouse, Shinjuku Ghetto
Kallen, panting as she jogged away from where her ejected cockpit had landed, thought about the last few moments of the battle. She had only been forced to eject because she had run out of energy and only had enough energy to eject if she didn't want to be a sitting duck. According to what she last heard from her friends, they'd been forced to eject as well and the Demon Prince's Royal Guard had retreated. Also, Taichi and Susumu were unable to catch the Demon Prince, though only because the prince had managed to hide himself without them noticing.
"Kallen, over here," Ohgi's voice called and Kallen turned toward it before darting over to join Ohgi at the entrance to an abandoned warehouse where the few survivors of the massacre had taken shelter. Tamaki, Sugiyama, Inoue, and Minami were there as were Michal and Reyes, the latter of whom was talking rapidly into his radio.
"Where's Yoshida?" Kallen asked.
"Still haven't been able to reach him," Inoue said grimly.
"I hope he's all right," Kallen murmured as they made their way deeper into the warehouse.
"You! This is all your fault," one of the survivors shouted.
"What? What did you say?" Tamaki demanded, glaring at the man.
"If you hadn't tried to fight against Britannia, this would have never happened," a woman shouted.
Tamaki scowled.
"Calm yourself, Tamaki," Michal said. "Not everyone believes in the same thing. Where are Taichi and Susumu?"
Reyes held up a hand and swore angrily under his breath. "We've got a problem. They just reported that a squad of Britannians are converging on our position," he said.
"What?"
"What do we do?" Kallen gasped.
Just then, the doors to the warehouse blew open and a tank rolled in along with a score of foot soldiers.
"Oh, did I say they were converging on our position? I meant they were right outside," Reyes said.
Inoue kicked him, hard, in the groin.
Michal watched Reyes, letting out a high-pitched cry of pain, fall with little sympathy in his eyes. "It was your own fault," he said flatly.
"You all are hereby sentenced to death for terrorism against Britannia," the soldier in charge of the situation declared, raising a hand and Kallen's eyes widened as guns from all the soldiers were pointed at them and she sank to her knees.
I tried...I'm so sorry, Naoto, she cried silently.
"Attention, all forces! Cease fire at once!" The voice of Prince Clovis echoed all around the ghetto, sounding especially loud in the confines of the warehouse."I, Clovis, third prince of Britannia and royal viceroy of Area Eleven, hereby command you: all forces are ordered to cease fire at once. You are also to cease destruction of any buildings or property. All casualties, whether Britannian or Eleven, shall be treated equally and without prejudice. In the name of Clovis la Britannia, you are hereby ordered: cease fire at once. I shall allow no further fighting."
Kallen stared, eyes wide with shock.
"What just happened?" Tamaki said.
Michal frowned, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "I'm wondering the exact same thing myself," he said.
. . .
Command Center, G1 Base, Shinjuku Ghetto
"There, I did it. Are you satisfied now? What next? Shall we sing songs or perhaps a nice game of chess?" Clovis said scornfully.
Lelouch, who was lounging in the shadows of the empty command center, his gun pointed at his half-brother, smirked quietly. "That has a familiar ring to it," he said coolly, keeping his voice low as he pushed himself away from the wall and stepped forward into the light.
Clovis's eyes went wide with shock. "L...Lelouch!" he exclaimed. "Oh, I'm so glad to see that you're all right."
"You're glad to see I'm all right? How ironic, considering you ordered my death less than an hour ago," Lelouch said flatly, his gun still aimed at his elder half-brother as he moved forward. "Do you not remember that? When you told your Royal Guard to ensure that there were no witnesses?"
Clovis's face paled considerably. "I...I had to! You don't know what she is! If...If word of her got out, I'd get disinherited," he exclaimed.
Lelouch's lips curled into a cool sneer. "I see. So your position is so much more important than your relationships. Why am I not surprised?" he said coolly, lowering the gun. "But I want to know why she's so important."
Clovis bit his lip but said nothing.
"Answer all of my questions truthfully," Lelouch ordered as soon as he locked eyes with his half-brother.
Clovis's eyes gained that ring of red around the irises. "Yes, go on," he said.
"What is so important about that green-haired girl?" Lelouch asked.
"She's immortal. No matter how many tests I had my men perform on her, no matter what they did to her to kill her, she always regenerated and came back to life," Clovis said monotonously.
"Tests? You were experimenting on a human?" Lelouch said in disgust, shocked at Clovis's words.
"Yes," Clovis said.
"Why?"
"In order to surpass you, Cornelia, and Schneizel and show that I am a true contender for the throne."
Lelouch's lips thinned at hearing his brother's ambition. "Why did you order the deaths of everyone in the Shinjuku Ghetto?" he asked.
"I could not risk either them or the Liberators getting their hands on the girl. I couldn't let that kind of power fall into the Liberators hands; it could spell doom for the entire Empire. They were just Elevens so I didn't think it mattered if they died so long as they took any knowledge they had of that girl with them," Clovis said.
That disgust grew and Lelouch's lips curled into a snarl, his mind flashing back to the invasion of Japan and how callous the Britannians were back then. It was hard to see Clovis acting just as callous as the Britannians who nearly killed Lelouch, Suzaku, and Nunnally during the invasion.
He didn't dare break eye contact with his brother but, considering the sounds of gunfire was getting closer to the command center, he knew he was running out of time before the final stage started. So he quickly asked the last question he had. "What do you know about my mother's death?" he asked.
"Only that Cornelia and Schneizel would know more," Clovis said.
Lelouch started, eyes wide. Nellie and Schneizel know about my mother's death? He thought in shock and gritted his teeth. He resolved to question Schneizel and Cornelia as soon as he could about what happened to his mother. "Very well," he said and broke eye contact with his brother.
Clovis straightened and blinked, looking confused before he shook his head. "I'm sorry, brother, but I can't tell you why she's important," he said.
Hmm, so he doesn't remember the questioning. Best keep that in mind, Lelouch thought. "I know," he said and lifted his gun again.
Clovis's eyes went wide. "W...What? Lelouch, please, why are you doing this?" he pleaded.
Lelouch's face was a cold mask as he gazed at the half-brother he once cared about. "You killed innocent people for the sake of keeping that girl a secret. That's not something I can just let go," he said.
"Why should you care? They're just Elevens!" Clovis exclaimed. "You would really kill your own brother for a bunch of Elevens?!"
Lelouch said nothing, just took the safety off his gun, aware of the sound of rushing feet. He was out of time. "I desire to change the world, to ensure that there will come a time when what happened here will never happen again, and in order to do that, I understand that I will have to get my hands dirty," he said and pulled the trigger.
Just as the door opened.
Two cracks sounded as two guns were fired simultaneously.
. . .
Suzaku had been having a bad feeling from the moment Lelouch told him his plan and, when Lelouch told him that he felt like something was wrong, he practically flew back to the G1. He barely managed to turn the Lancelot off before he was jumping out of the cockpit as the hatch opened, not even bothering with the access cable, and bolting for the G1. He didn't even notice whether the rest of the Royal Guard had joined back at the base or not; he was too focused on getting to his prince.
Something wasn't right. Lelouch had said that something was wrong and Lelouch was usually right about these kinds of things.
Besides, Suzaku had already nearly lost his prince twice in the past when he wasn't there to protect him, first when he was drugged and nearly kidnapped at Osaka and again when he was nearly killed by Nightfall at Sapporo.
Suzaku was not going to let something like that happen again.
He weaved his way among the soldiers as he neared the entrance to the G1 and bolted into it, surprised by the amount of damage that he saw. There were quite a few people on the ground, clutching at wounds, while others were crouched beneath desks or pressed against walls.
"Where's Prince Lelouch?" Suzaku asked.
"He said he was going to go speak to Prince Clovis, Sir Kururugi," one woman crouched under a desk said, "and then this guy...I don't know how he got in but Prince Clovis's men must have been lax in their guarding duties because he just waltzed right in. He went in the same direction Prince Lelouch went! The elevator at the end of the hall will take you to the floor where the command center is."
Swearing, Suzaku nodded and darted past the woman, heading straight for the elevator she had indicated.
It took him only a few minutes to get onto the next floor and, almost before the elevator doors finished opening, he was bolting down the hallway, stumbling when two gunshots sounded. Eyes widening, he started running as fast as he could, drawing his gun as he did so and praying his best friend and prince was all right.
He skidded to a halt and the door to the command center slid open as he approached it. He darted into the room, freezing dead near the door as he caught sight of the bloody scene.
Prince Clovis was slumped on his throne, eyes gazing sightlessly at the wall with a single bullet wound to his forehead.
Lelouch, on the other hand, was on the ground, blood pooling out of the bullet wound in his shoulder and half-opened eyes hazy with pain.
The terrorist in the room was running for the window and Suzaku pulled himself out of his shock to fire widely at the terrorist. It missed and the terrorist threw himself through the window of the command center, causing a shower of glass to rain down outside.
Swearing but letting the terrorist go—he had to see to his prince first and foremost—Suzaku holstered his gun and bolted to his friend's side, falling to his knees and pulling off the jacket he'd been wearing. He hadn't had time to change into his pilot suit so he was still in the disguise he'd worn when he and Lelouch had left the party at the Viceroy's Palace.
"Lelouch, stay with me," he said as he pressed the jacket against the wound to try to stop the bleeding, briefly noticing the blood was coming out the other side as well. He knew enough about medical stuff to know that if the bullet was still in his shoulder then Lelouch's life would be in more danger than if it went straight through.
"Here, I need you to put pressure on the wound. I'm going to call for help," Suzaku said.
Lelouch nodded slowly and hissed in pain as he pressed against the jacket in an attempt to staunch the bleeding while Suzaku fished out his radio, ignoring the blood that got on it. He turned it on. "This is Major Kururugi. I need a medical team to the command center now. Prince Lelouch is injured," he said.
"We're on our way, Major Kururugi," a female voice said and Suzaku, relieved, put the radio down and turned to Lelouch whose skin was a pasty white and eyes were bright with pain.
"Help's on the way," he said as he took over attempting to staunch the bleeding long enough for the medical team to get there.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: I really like doing these kinds of chapters, don't I? Cliffhanger ones I mean, even if it's not that bad this time
Bakura: duh
Blaze: shut up
Suzaku: by the way, I haven't seen Luciano in a while. Where is he?
Kallen: still falling
Suzaku: still? It's been over six months!
Blaze: that is what I like to call a bottomless hole
Luciano: (still falling and eating popcorn)
Suzaku: (peers over cliff's edge) how did you get popcorn?
Luciano: (still falling) someone tossed it over the cliff a few days ago
Suzaku: (sweatdrops) okay? (mutter) Why would someone throw popcorn over a cliff?
Lelouch: by the way, where did you go last chapter?
Blaze: raided the nearest candy factory
Bakura: why didn't you invite me?!
Blaze: you don't like candy that much
Bakura: but I do like stealing!
Blaze: want to come raid the chocolate factory with me?
Bakura: hell yeah (walks off with Blaze to raid the chocolate factory)
Suzaku: oh boy
Lelouch: tell me about it. Anyway, Blaze would like you to know that the next chapter of Fall Into Dusk will be, or has been posted, around the same time as this chapter. She also hopes that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
